Spider-Man Reborn?
Last week saw an earth-shattering day in superhero movie history. Though there were no fireworks or fans dancing in the street, there was no doubt that a long-fought war had finally been won and a victory granted to all Marvel fans: After months of rumors and high hopes, it was confirmed early last week that Marvel Studios had regained the rights to its world-famous web-slinger. Spider-Man is coming home.
This new agreement — in which Sony Pictures and Marvel essentially share the film rights to Spider-Man — promises to bring Spider-Man to an undisclosed Marvel film. This appearance, along with a new co-produced Spider-Man film in 2017, has the potential to completely overhaul the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and superhero movies as a whole.
To some who aren’t quite familiar with the current state of superhero films, this news might seem a bit confusing; how can Marvel not have the rights to Spider-Man? After all, it is the company behind everyone’s favorite web-head.
Spider-Man’s journey to the big screen is long and complicated, suffering through 25 years of development hell. The short version is that Columbia Pictures, the film production and distribution division of Sony, acquired the long-contested rights to the web-slinger in 1999. With these rights, the company produced director Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man in 2002, Spider-Man 2 in 2004 and Spider-Man 3 in 2007.
After failing to expand when many cast members and producers decided to abandon the series, Sony opted to reboot the franchise. Many fans were unhappy with the notion of creating a new series so soon after Raimi’s trilogy wrapped, but the studio proceeded, creating The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
On the other hand, Marvel Studios has been churning out blockbuster flicks since 2008’s Iron Man, and though The Avengers was a massive hit, some important heroes from Marvel’s lineup were noticeably absent from the team-up flick because of the divided movie rights.
The implications of adding Spider-Man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe are potentially staggering. Though it is likely far too late to add the character into Avengers: Age of Ultron, the upcoming Captain America: Civil War will no doubt be affected by this famous addition to the cast.
Spider-Man plays a huge role in Marvel’s 2006-07 Civil War, a massive crossover event that pitted heroes against one another (and is the probable basis for the newest Cap flick). Though it’s too early to call exactly how this plot will be adapted for the screen, given its tie-ins to so many Marvel series, fans can assume with reasonable certainty that the film will pit Captain America and Iron Man against each other in an ideological clash over the Superhero Registration Act, which would force all superhuman crime fighters to register with the government or face severe punishment.
Spider-Man plays a huge role in the Civil War comics, as he reveals his true identity, Peter Parker, in order to support Iron Man and the Superhuman Registration Act publicly.
Beyond this, the possibilities for the use of the wall-crawler are limitless. With the Avengers: Infinity War films on the forecast for 2018 and 2019, there will no doubt be plenty of opportunities for Spider-Man to make an appearance as a supporting role in other upcoming Marvel films.
However, how Marvel will introduce him is unclear and still open to plenty of speculation. Given Spider-Man’s large role in Civil War, it seems as though it might be too late to bring him in for the first time alongside Captain America. After all, what’s the point of revealing your secret identity if no one knows who you are?
Spider-Man is unlikely to join in on movies such as Doctor Strange or Black Panther, as his appearance would distract from the titular characters, nor is he a good fit for Guardians of the Galaxy 2, which is unlikely to take place on Earth.
Given the popularity of Marvel’s current TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and its other upcoming television prospects, the studio could easily introduce Peter Parker in an episode of a Marvel show and then bring him into the films. It’s also possible that Spider-Man simply won’t appear again on the big screen until July 28, 2017, when the co-produced film with Sony is slated to be released.
Regardless of how Spidey swings his way onto screens again, this collaboration is a remarkable endeavor. Sony and Marvel’s decision to share the rights has opened new windows for additional cross-studio collaborations for other comic franchises; Marvel might even be able to share other cast-off properties, including the X-Men, in the future.
Most excitingly, many fans are eager to see what will happen as Marvel’s already-expansive Cinematic Universe of interconnected heroes continues to grow. The roster is already quite impressive, and our moviegoing future only looks brighter with the addition of one of the most popular heroes of all time into the Marvel family.
